Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
TftYP - Running Sunless Citadel
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Prakriti" data-source="post: 7093188" data-attributes="member: 6855149"><p>Nope. Slow Natural Recovery just removes the total-health-refill after a long rest. So players can spend hit dice after either a short or long rest. </p><p></p><p></p><p>This is what I call the OD&D method. It's good if you have a knack for mechanical description. You also need to come up with unique telegraphs for each trap or secret door, otherwise you're announcing their presence to the world. </p><p></p><p>For example, there are two identical traps in the Sunless Citadel. As soon as I used similar language to telegraph the second one, the players said, "Ah-hah," and knew exactly what was up. So relying on description requires extra work and a lot of creativity. </p><p></p><p></p><p>This is very important, especially if your players are mostly familiar with the heroic-fantasy bent of most 5E adventures. Dungeon-crawling is a whole 'nother game, and it involves more protocol. </p><p></p><p>As soon as the party enters the dungeon, go through this check-list: </p><p>- What is the marching order? </p><p>- What are the light-sources? </p><p>- What task is everyone engaged in? (Mapping, keeping an eye out for danger, etc.)</p><p></p><p>Also, ask the party to describe their general routine. How fast are they moving? Are they listening at every door? Are they searching as they go along? Generally, I don't allow a character to contribute their passive Perception to trap detection unless they're in the front rank. And if they are listening at every door, just use passive Perception instead of rolling at every door.</p><p></p><p>Also, keep accurate track of time. If the party is moving slowly, searching as they go along, and listening at doors, then assume that 10 minutes is spent for every room and corridor they traverse (in AD&D, this was called a turn). Dungeon-crawling is a slow and cautious activity. </p><p></p><p>Lastly, I strongly encourage every party to elect a Caller. This is the description I give to my players:</p><p> </p><p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>The Caller’s job is to say where the party is going next, i.e. “We go down the east passage” or “We open the door.” Once the party arrives at the next destination, then play resumes as normal, and the other players can declare actions (“I search the wardrobe,” “I cautiously approach the statue,” etc.). This speeds up play.</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>As the Caller, you should never query the party for help making a decision unless you’re completely stumped. In other words, don’t ask, “Where should we go next?” Just make a decision and go with it. Asking for input slows down play and turns every decision into a group discussion.</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>This arrangement means that it’s the party’s responsibility to jump in when they have suggestions or want to declare actions. If the party is silent, then the Caller can and should assume that the group is done exploring and ready to move on. As the Caller, you shouldn’t spend too much time waiting for the other party members to declare actions. If it feels like the action has slowed down or you’ve hit a dead end, simply move on to the next room. (Note: A prompt like “Ready to move on?” is fine. Just don’t wait too long for an answer.)</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><em>Note: A Caller is not the same as a party leader. A Caller has no more authority than the other players. Nor is the Caller necessarily the “Face” of the group, i.e. the character who represents the party in negotiations. The Caller is simply the player who directs the party’s movements from room to room. They might be a low-Charisma wizard who never talks to NPCs, for example, or even a mute Kenku. As such, the Caller should never be assumed to “lead” the party in any way, unless it’s appropriate for the Caller's character to do so. They have no more or less authority than everyone else.</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><em></em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p>Just make sure you're mixing it up every now and then. Try to elect a different Caller each session or, if you have long sessions, after each break.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Prakriti, post: 7093188, member: 6855149"] Nope. Slow Natural Recovery just removes the total-health-refill after a long rest. So players can spend hit dice after either a short or long rest. This is what I call the OD&D method. It's good if you have a knack for mechanical description. You also need to come up with unique telegraphs for each trap or secret door, otherwise you're announcing their presence to the world. For example, there are two identical traps in the Sunless Citadel. As soon as I used similar language to telegraph the second one, the players said, "Ah-hah," and knew exactly what was up. So relying on description requires extra work and a lot of creativity. This is very important, especially if your players are mostly familiar with the heroic-fantasy bent of most 5E adventures. Dungeon-crawling is a whole 'nother game, and it involves more protocol. As soon as the party enters the dungeon, go through this check-list: - What is the marching order? - What are the light-sources? - What task is everyone engaged in? (Mapping, keeping an eye out for danger, etc.) Also, ask the party to describe their general routine. How fast are they moving? Are they listening at every door? Are they searching as they go along? Generally, I don't allow a character to contribute their passive Perception to trap detection unless they're in the front rank. And if they are listening at every door, just use passive Perception instead of rolling at every door. Also, keep accurate track of time. If the party is moving slowly, searching as they go along, and listening at doors, then assume that 10 minutes is spent for every room and corridor they traverse (in AD&D, this was called a turn). Dungeon-crawling is a slow and cautious activity. Lastly, I strongly encourage every party to elect a Caller. This is the description I give to my players: [INDENT][I]The Caller’s job is to say where the party is going next, i.e. “We go down the east passage” or “We open the door.” Once the party arrives at the next destination, then play resumes as normal, and the other players can declare actions (“I search the wardrobe,” “I cautiously approach the statue,” etc.). This speeds up play. As the Caller, you should never query the party for help making a decision unless you’re completely stumped. In other words, don’t ask, “Where should we go next?” Just make a decision and go with it. Asking for input slows down play and turns every decision into a group discussion. This arrangement means that it’s the party’s responsibility to jump in when they have suggestions or want to declare actions. If the party is silent, then the Caller can and should assume that the group is done exploring and ready to move on. As the Caller, you shouldn’t spend too much time waiting for the other party members to declare actions. If it feels like the action has slowed down or you’ve hit a dead end, simply move on to the next room. (Note: A prompt like “Ready to move on?” is fine. Just don’t wait too long for an answer.) Note: A Caller is not the same as a party leader. A Caller has no more authority than the other players. Nor is the Caller necessarily the “Face” of the group, i.e. the character who represents the party in negotiations. The Caller is simply the player who directs the party’s movements from room to room. They might be a low-Charisma wizard who never talks to NPCs, for example, or even a mute Kenku. As such, the Caller should never be assumed to “lead” the party in any way, unless it’s appropriate for the Caller's character to do so. They have no more or less authority than everyone else. [/I] [/INDENT] Just make sure you're mixing it up every now and then. Try to elect a different Caller each session or, if you have long sessions, after each break. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
TftYP - Running Sunless Citadel
Top